WE COULDN'T STOP HIM: Newcastle chiefs said they were unable to stop Yohan Cabaye from leaving the club [GETTY]

That’s despite the Geordies’ latest accounts revealing a near £10m profit for the last financial year.

The Toon sold Cabaye to Paris Saint Germain in a £19m deal which enraged supporters, particularly when they failed to being in a replacement.

But club secretary Lee Charnley and director of finance John Irving, in charge of the day-to-day running of Newcastle in the absence of owner Mike Ashley, insist they had no choice but to sanction Cabaye’s exit.

“The club’s preference was to keep the player and for him to remain at the club long term,” they told a fans’ forum meeting.

“However, the player was adamant he wanted to leave.”

Newcastle tried to sign Lyons midfielder Clement Grenier as Cabaye’s successor but their £10m bid fell well short of the French outfit’s valuation.

“The club made a substantial bid for a replacement but an agreement could not be reached with the prospective selling club,” fans were told at the meeting.

“The club also pursued other options but particular clubs were unwilling to sell.”

PARIS BOY: Cabaye joined Paris Saint Germain for £19 million [GETTY]

“The club’s preference was to keep the player and for him to remain at the club long term, however, the player was adamant he wanted to leave.”

Lee Charnley

Toon officials, who confirmed a replacement for ousted director of football Joe Kinnear, is likely to be appointed in the summer, revealed up to 10 per cent of season ticket holders have not renewed for the 2014-15 campaign.

The Magpies halted an alarming run with their last-gasp win over Aston Villa on Sunday and despite their New Year slump, remain on course to achieve their pre-season objective of a top half finish.

Toon chief Alan Pardew read the riot act to his players in the wake of their recent 4-0 mauling against Tottenham, their fifth successive league and cup defeat at St James’ Park.

And Pardew believes his dressing room rant had the desired effect.

“You could see we’d got ourselves back together,” he said.

“Against Villa, we might have been a bit nervous and edgy on the ball but our commitment was10 out of 10.

“You couldn’t fault any player on that score and now we can build on that result.”